Today, the 11th day of Shevat, corresponding to January 17th, we take the opportunity to welcome everybody who has started to arrive for the intersession week, which is, in plain English, winter break for the school systems in New York, New Jersey, etc. We hope everybody will have an enjoyable time in Florida. We apologize for the cold weather we have in Florida these days. Somebody asked me for the money back. I said, “I want my money back.” I said, “I don’t work for JetBlue.” But, bottom line, enjoy your stay as much as you can, and if you need anything, please feel free to ask any of the rabbis of the synagogue or the office staff.
The Gemara of today comes from Masechet Menachot, and this is a very beautiful and very famous Gemara that talks about the Lord. It’s a love that HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, Blessed be He) has for Am Yisrael. The Gemara tells us that when Am Yisrael came to Eretz Yisrael, especially to the city of Yerushalayim, to celebrate Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot, specifically when he came to Sukkot, the Gemara says that the Kohanim (priests) would lift the lechem (bread), the shulchan (table), and the trays that contain the 12 lechem hapanim (showbreads), and they would say, “Look at the tremendous amount of love Hashem has for Am Yisrael.” What was the love that the Gemara refers to? They have a Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi.
It says, Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi, that there was a mega miracle that was visible from any place. It says, Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi, that there was a mega miracle that was visible to any person standing next to the Beit HaMikdash. Imagine yourself: the lechem hapanim, just to give a brief introduction to it, refers to the 12 breads that contain the shulchan in the Beit HaMikdash. The breads would usually be replaced every Friday afternoon, and the bread was eaten by the Kohanim who had the mishmar (priestly watch) of that week. As we know, the Kohanim were the ones who ate the bread. They were divided into 24 teams, chaf-dalet (twenty-four) Mishmarot, and the lechem hapanim was distributed according to the mishmar of the week, to the team of Kohanim who worked that week.
What was the miracle of this bread? One of the miracles, the Gemara says, was that when the lechem hapanim was put from the oven into the trays, the bread remained. The miracle was that this bread would remain warm all week long. Imagine yourself: you put bread on the toaster—not bread and cheese, but bread only; that’s what the science is. You put bread on the toaster. What happens when you take the bread out of the toaster? You see smoke coming out. “Steam.” “Steam.” How long does that steam last? “Two minutes.” Two minutes, three minutes, and if you are machmir (stringent) and you burn the bread? Maybe more. But usually, after a few moments, the smoke is gone. The Gemara tells us that the smoke on the bread remained alive throughout the entire week.
Now, what was the purpose of the Kohanim carrying the shulchan? Let’s make believe that this was the shulchan. They carried the shulchan, and they show it from the rooftop. So everybody was able to see the miracle of the lechem hapanim. So I believe that our Rabbi tells us that the Kohanim, who were the main stars of the Beit HaMikdash, were sending a message to those who will come to visit the Beit HaMikdash. I’m going to illustrate this with a mashal (parable) that I think we can all relate to. But you see, it’s limited.